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Wisewood Apothecary

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Wisewood Apothecary

Wisewood Apothecary offers herbal education and services in the Mohkinstsis (Calgary) area. Want to put some faces to the plant names you've learned? AND!

Maybe polish up on your survival skills? Check out our one-of-a-kind Survival Plant Walks! Enjoy Calgary parks as we explore local plants and the edible, medicinal, and practical functions that can aid in our survival. Plant walks not your thing? Want some more hands-on opportunities? Keep an eye out for our signature herbal workshops, where you can practice your newly acquired skills under the gu

idance of Practical Herbalist, Cheyenne Caza. We'll soon be offering online classes! Stay tuned for news on that. Everything we do around here operates on a pay what you can (PWYC) system in order to increase accessibility to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds, meaning that no one is turned away due to a lack of funds. We live, work, and play on Treaty 7 territory, in Calgary (Mohkínstsis), Alberta. These lands belong to the Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy, including the Blackfeet Nation to the south of us in the US, and the Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), and Pikani (Peigan) to the north of us. The document declaring these lands Treaty 7 territory was signed in 1877, by the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut’ina (Sarcee) Nation, and the Stoney-Nakoda Nation, which is made up of the Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley Nations. We acknowledge that this document was signed on behalf of all non-Indigenous people, making us all treaty partners. We also acknowledge all status and non-status First Nations, Metis, and Inuit as the keepers of Turtle Island. We strive to honour this relationship and the land we stand upon. Stay in touch with us! Email: wisewoodapothecary@gmail.com
Website: wisewoodapothecary.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesewisewoods/
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11/17/2023

✨ Unravelling the Jargon: Demystifying Industry Terminology ✨

Hello, word nerds! We're back for another round of Unravelling the Jargon, where we break down complex terminology used in herbalism and survivalism.

Today, we're looking at the term: MORPHOLOGY

In order to define the morphology, we actually have to break it down into its two root words: "morphē" and "logy".

Firstly, the word "morphē", stemming from ancient Greek, simply means "form" or "shape". And secondly, almost any word combined with "logy" or "ology" (both coming from ancient Greek and medieval Latin) would show that it is a subject of study. For instance, a word like "ecology" would indicate that it's an area of study focused on the environment, and a word like "pathology" would show that it's a branch of medical science that studies diseases.

So, if we squish "morphē" and "logy" back together, we get a branch of study revolving around the form/shape of things. Most often, this is applied to biological sciences, but it can also be applied to linguistic studies.

In herbalism, we heavily rely on plant morphology, technically called "phytomorphology". It is the number one branch of study for herb nerds, which focuses on the physical form of plants and their external structure (whereas the study of the internal structure would be "anatomy"). In fact, while we may not be consciously aware of it, plant identification simply cannot be done without using phytomorphology, that's how ingrained it is. So, if you've learned anything about identifying plants, you've also learned about plant morphology 🥳

Around here, the word "morphology" is always reminiscent of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and how cool would it be if we became the Mighty Morphology Flower Rangers?? 💥🌺⚡️🌸🫡

Thoughts? Questions? Anecdotes to share? Drop a comment! We'd love to hear from you!

📷 by Annie Spratt - Unsplash

11/01/2023

Happy November, Friends! 🌟

Apologies for missing October! But, it's the 1st of the month again, so we're back with a gentle reminder to invest some care in yourself and your responsibilities.

Here's a little checklist to help keep things on track:

1️⃣ No late fees for you! Get your new bus pass, and pay your rent, mortgage, utilities, insurance, and other bills on time.

2️⃣ It's time to cancel subscriptions you don't need/want, as well as the free trials you signed up for — before they charge you.

3️⃣ Outdoors: Gather seeds and give your outdoor plants a big drink of water before winter hits. Indoors: Deeply water your houseplants, check on your drying herbs, shake up your brewing tinctures, and label everything you haven't.

4️⃣ Got a dental cleaning, blood test, winter tire install, vaccine, or therapy session that you need to book? Do it today! Consider this your sign that now's the time!

8️⃣ Seasonal affective disorder is real and starts setting in around now. If it's safe to do so (for the vast majority of us - it is), adults can increase their vitamin D intake to 3000IU daily, keeping in mind that some people will need more/less than that.

9️⃣ Get the things you need to thrive: condoms/birth control, prescriptions/supplements, glasses/contacts, etc. Ensure your loved ones, especially the vulnerable ones (those who are homeless, grieving, aging, healing, recovering, and transitioning), have what they need to get through the cold months.

🔟 This can be tough, but answer the following "journal prompt" within your own self, out loud, or in your journal: In the past year, what is the biggest impact someone had on you, and what's the biggest impact you had on someone else? Remember that "impact" is a neutral term, encompassing both positive and negative interaction.

Accomplishing even one of the above tasks is a big win - so act like it! Celebrate doing the difficult work of wholeheartedly caring for yourself and the world around you 🥳

If you'd like to support our work, reacting, commenting, and sharing our posts make a big difference in our overall success 💕

10/27/2023

✨ Unravelling the Jargon: Demystifying Industry Terminology ✨

Hi, friends! Welcome to another round of Unravelling the Jargon, where we break down the terminology used in the realms of herbalism and survivalism.

Today, we're looking at the term: MACERATION

Like most of the terminology used in herbalism, the word "maceration", pronounced "mas-er-ray-shun", has Latin roots, stemming from the word “macerare”, meaning “to soften” or “to steep”. In herbalism, it’s the umbrella term used to describe various plant medicine extraction methods.

Essentially, maceration is the process of soaking or steeping plant parts in a liquid (technically called a “solvent”) for a variable period of time, to soften the plant material, and draw out the medicinal properties of the chosen plants, concentrating them in the chosen liquid. The resulting extract can then be used in a myriad of health and beauty applications.

However, herbal medicine extraction goes a lot deeper than that. Different herbs require different solvents (water, alcohol, oil), processing timelines (hours, days, weeks), temperatures (cold, hot, room temperature), and extraction methods (infusions, tinctures, glycerites) depending on the plants used and the desired effects. For instance, a reishi mushroom tincture takes several weeks, two different extraction methods (infusion and tincture), and two different solvents (water and alcohol), that, once prepared, are combined to make a single medicine. While the term “maceration” is simple enough to understand, the actual extraction process can get quite complex.

Bonus lesson! Depending on the plants and solvents involved, the leftover, soaked plant material can be used as a compress for an injury, worked into various meals, or composted for the future health of the ecosystem.

If you’ve ever made a cup of tea or an infusion, then you already have a foundational understanding of maceration! Are there any other maceration methods that you want to try but haven’t yet? ☕

Drop a comment below with a herbalism or survivalism term you'd like to see us dissect!

10/26/2023

🌿 Tip of the Day: Surviving and thriving exists on a spectrum 🌿

Survival is about enduring hardship long enough to shift our circumstances into better conditions, and thriving is about embracing hardship, and finding joy in the journey. Both have their place, serve essential purposes, and bear strenuous downsides.

Living too long on the survival end of the spectrum can diminish our capacity to thrive while concentrating too much on the thriving end of the spectrum can reduce our drive to survive. Existing too much on either end of the spectrum can cause complacency, challenge our sense of hope, drain us of our ambition, and rob us of our determination.

Humanity knows that water, shelter, and food, are needed to survive, but what's often overlooked is that we also need both physical and emotional warmth, connection, security, and justice. Contrary to (seemingly) popular belief and the isolating standards of western society, humans are pack animals — we need each other to both survive and thrive. It's a fact of life that people still love to argue 🤷‍♀️

Have you paused lately, especially post-pandemic, to question whether you're thriving, surviving, or a blend of both? Feel like sharing what you discovered?

10/20/2023

✨ Unravelling the Jargon: Demystifying Industry Terminology ✨

We're so glad you found us here! Welcome, all, to another round of Unravelling the Jargon, where we break down terminology used in herbalism and survivalism.

Today, we're looking at the term: BATONING

Baton, pronounced "bat-ohn", stems from the French word "bâton", the Old French word "baston", and the ancient Latin word "bastum". And you'll never guess what they all stand for! It's "stick". Like a literal wooden stick 🙃

That said, "batoning" is a wood-splitting technique that processes large logs into small pieces without an axe or saw, using a stick and a blade. It is an invaluable skill all outdoor enthusiasts should learn before venturing into the Canadian wilderness.

In order to split wood using the batoning technique, we'd first need to find a suitable stick, that is light enough to wield, but sturdy enough to withstand smashing — this would be our baton. We'd then set a log on a sturdy surface (like a rock), place our blade (knife, hatchet, machete) sharp side down on the log, and repeatedly strike the blunt edge of the blade with our baton, forcing the blade further and further into the wood until it fully splits. This can be such an effective method that when the blade is placed along the wood grain, it can cleanly split large logs. However! Knotty, wet, or frozen wood is the greatest enemy of batoning, so be very mindful in your log selections; standing dead wood is our best bet.

Batoning is indispensable for processing larger logs and hardwoods that would otherwise be too difficult to split with a knife or hatchet alone. In addition to firewood and shelter construction, batoning is also useful for crafting tools, weapons, and other wooden implements.

Is batoning a skill you already possess? Have you ever had to use it in a real-life situation, or just for practice?

Drop a comment below with a herbalism or survivalism term you'd like to see us dissect for the community!

10/19/2023

🌿 Tip of the Day: For the love of all that is good - leave the leaves 🌿

It's natural to cling to what remains of summer by removing the browns, yellows, oranges, and reds of decaying plant life, to extend our remaining time with summery greens. But, resist the temptation! Fallen leaves, and other autumn debris, create highly nuanced micro-climates that allow insects and other wildlife to thrive underneath the frozen, snow-covered landscape.

🍂 Handling Leaves and Autumn Debris 🍂
- Crumpled/shredded leaves are best for the ecosystem (sort of like how it's easier for us to swallow chewed food), except that mowing can directly impact the organisms hiding in the leaves. Instead, rake dry leaves into a big pile, then jump and play away! Dogs and kids absolutely love this chore, but don't let them have all the fun - it's your time to shine!
- Instead of completely removing fallen leaves from your yard, they can be raked up and kept in a corner of your yard for the winter, providing plenty of space for organisms to spend the winter.
- If you must bag up the leaves for removal, leave the bags open for a few hours so bugs have a chance to escape. If you are using paper bags, be mindful of moisture levels, as it can cause the bag to weaken and tear.

🍁 Special caveat for Calgarians: Most "Leave the Leaves" campaigns do not factor in trees with large leaves, such as the illustrious cottonwoods, of which we have 3 native species making up a sizeable portion of the over 7 million trees in our city. Their leaves can get quite big, up to 5 inches long, and, when coupled with autumn precipitation, can create thick "mats" of interwoven leaves, smothering and suffocating life beneath them.

For Calgarians with cottonwoods, wait for the first 50% of the leaves to fall before dealing with them (as listed below). Allow the remaining 50% of the leaves to fall, and leave them alone to serve their natural purpose. Come spring, the leaf "mats" can be raked into a loose pile and left alone for a week or two in order for any late-sleepers to vacate, before processing the leaves out of your yard.

10/12/2023

🌿 Tip of the Day: Consent isn't just for humans! 🌿

Ethical foraging and/or harvesting comes from a place of love, and getting consent before picking plants is an essential component of that.

➡️ Obtain permission 3 times; and yes, we know that sounds like overkill. First, ask the overall ecosystem (and land owner, if applicable) if you are welcome to be there, then ask the plant patch if it can handle harvesting, and finally, get permission from each individual plant you want to take from.

It is quite a delight to see our resident Herbalist, Cheyenne Caza, pause mid-plant walk to ask the plants for volunteers to serve the purpose she's instructing about.

But, how do you know if you've gotten permission? While plants cannot speak any human languages, they certainly do communicate. Quietly tuning in with yourself, in order to establish a line of connection with the land you're on, is what allows you to "hear" that choir of "voices". Rather than actual voices though, Cheyenne describes it more as a feeling: a tightening or loosening in her gut, accompanied by a visceral jolt of discouragement or enthusiasm.

What that looks like for people watching her is that Cheyenne will ask for clear volunteers in the plant patch (out loud or silently) to serve the intended purpose. She'll go from plant to plant asking "How about you? No? Okay, and how about you?" until she finds the perfect match. Oftentimes, the process allows damaged plants to make themselves known, which she'll happily use for teaching purposes, over stronger, healthier plants.

As Cheyenne says: "If you've never received a clear 'no' from nature, then you aren't listening."

10/05/2023

🌿 Tip of the Day: Respect plant populations! 🌿

Never over-harvest; take only what you need — what you KNOW you have the energy and resources to process right away. Judging by the state of our local plant populations, as well as our regular foraging spots, this is a lesson that people are struggling to learn.

➡️ Only take from plants you know a lot about. You need to know what constitutes a healthy population, what plant parts regrow, what parts can kill the plant when taken, and how/when to increase/sustain populations — or leave them the heck alone.

We are all stewards of the Earth and we need to take that very real responsibility to heart. Ethical foragers work to restore and preserve ecosystems by prioritizing the land and water systems, not robbing them for personal gain and temporary comfort 🌎

09/22/2023

Friends! The responses that we've received so far from our survey, have been extremely helpful - THANK YOU 🥹

We are refining all your awesome insights down into, what we feel, is some pretty kick-ass programming. Your efforts here are very appreciated and help us curate quite a beautiful community!

For people that haven't yet heard, we put together a short survey called "What Do You Want From Wisewood Apothecary," and we'd love to hear your thoughts! Your feedback helps us tailor our offerings to meet your needs and interests.

It's quick and easy, so grab a cup of tea, get cozy, and let your voice be heard. We're all ears ✨
📋 Take the Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/J5H9SJM
⏰ Time Needed: About 10 minutes
Feel free to share this survey with fellow herbal enthusiasts. The more, the merrier!

YOU greatly matter to us. Thank you for being an essential part of our journey 💖

09/19/2023

Monday Musings with Cheyenne: Navigating Business & Self: Part 2/2

Let’s wrap up the 2-part Navigating Business & Self series by delving deeper into social media, morality in business, and seeking harmony in dichotomy.

📱Taming the Social Media Beast
Social media offers both trials and triumphs, both of which are tough to tame. Wisewood’s popularity (thanks entirely to you) almost exclusively relies on word-of-mouth and our social media presence. It's pretty cool that I rarely need to advertise because you’re all already talking about it! Even so, navigating this fickle realm is troublesome. Notifications, marketing, and algorithms can overwhelm even the best of us. Balancing authenticity as a content producer with my personal boundaries demands a delicate dance of intention and self-awareness that did not come naturally to me.

⚖️Harmony in Dichotomy
It is through this delicate dance that I strive to harmonize business with personal essence. It's a path of discovery that compels me to continually refine my approach as both a human and a herbalist. Just as I infuse whole-hearted care into my herbal practice, I aim to bring the same mindfulness into every aspect of my journey, balancing the demands of business with who I am and what I want to see changed in this world. It's a precarious equilibrium, an intricate dance routine that embodies the power of remaining true to oneself while traversing the cut-throat world of commerce.

🧭 Injecting Morality into Business
Navigating a profit-centric system, staying authentic, and continuously breaking molds while upholding the ethics we were promised as kids, is not easy. However, it is these defining moments that shape us collectively and individually. We all stand at a crossroads, where we can break free from profit-driven paths or uphold the status quo. I choose to follow my moral compass, forging a new path - paving the way for future generations with each step.

To that end, my fellow herb nerds, I invite you to share your story. Your insights enrich our collective understanding and illuminate our paths, which we need a lot more of in this world.

Cheyenne Caza 💚
Found & Herbalist at Wisewood Apothecary

09/08/2023

🌿 Unravelling the Jargon: "Phytotherapy" 🌿

Today, we embark on a journey through the enchanting world of "phytotherapy."

📚 Etymology:
The term “phytotherapy” has Greek roots, with “phyto” stemming from the Greek word “phyton”, meaning “plant”, and “therapy” from the Greek word “therapeia”, meaning “healing” or “treatment”. Squish them together, and you get “plant healing” or “treatment with plants”, a fitting term for the practice of using plants for therapeutic purposes.

🔬 Western Scientific Perspective:
In scientific contexts, “phytotherapy” is less commonly used than terms like “botanical medicine” or “herbal medicine”, though the use of plants for medicinal purposes is not dismissed by the community. Instead, the term evolved into various branches of study, such as herbal pharmacology, integrative medicine, and naturopathy, where the time-tested therapeutic benefits of plants are sought to be confirmed by modern science, within a rigorous scientific framework.

🌱 Western Herbalist Perspective:
Though the first known use of the word “phytotherapy” is from a French physician, Henri Leclerc, who first used the term in 1913 in publishing Précis de phytothérapie (“Handbook of Phytotherapy”), the overall concept has been in practice across the globe for millennia. Anyone that has ever used plants as medicinal allies, has been participating in phytotherapy.

🌟 Modern Magic:
Today, the term “phytotherapy” is experiencing a revival as more people turn to herbs. From tisanes and tinctures to essential oils and ointments, it’s all about tapping into Mother Nature’s botanical wonders. So, the next time you enjoy a cup of tea or the fragrant aroma of your favourite essential oil, remember that you're savouring a taste of "phytotherapy" magic! 🌿💫

Tune in next time, as we continue to unravel the mysteries behind technical terms used in herbalism and survivalism. Tell us a term that you struggled to understand and it might be featured here next time!

(P.S. Sharing, commenting, and reacting to posts greatly helps out small businesses, so please contribute whenever you can 💖)

09/06/2023

Join us on September 9th for an unforgettable journey into the wild world of survival plants at Confederation Park!

🗓️ Registration for our pay-what-you-can Survival Plant Walk closes Friday night at 7:00 PM! Kids 8 years of age and up are welcome, accompanied by their caregiver, as long as both of them are registered.

Tap that registration link now and get ready for a morning filled with knowledge, adventure, and the beauty of Mother Nature 🌍

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/survival-plant-walk-confederation-park-registration-696177073367

Can't wait to walk on the wild side with you!

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Community Of Dover
Calgary, AB
T2B1V6

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